Alpha-tocopherol exerts protective function against the mucotoxicity of particulate matter in amphibian and human goblet cells

Exposure to particulate matter (PM) in ambient air is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disorders and mortality. The cytotoxicity of PM is mainly due to the abnormal increase of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which damage cellular components such as DNA, RNA, and proteins. The correlation between PM exposure and human disorders, including mortality, is based on long-term exposure. In this study we have investigated acute responses of mucus-secreting goblet cells upon exposure to PM derived from a heavy diesel engine. To this end, we employed the mucociliary epithelium of amphibian embryos and human Calu-3 cells to examine PM mucotoxicity. Our data suggest that acute exposure to PM significantly impairs mucus secretion and results in the accumulation of mucus vesicles in the cytoplasm of goblet cells. RNA-seq analysis revealed that acute responses to PM exposure significantly altered gene expression patterns; however, known regulators of mucus production and the secretory pathway were not significantly altered. Interestingly, pretreatment with alpha-tocopherol nearly recovered the hyposecretion of mucus from both amphibian and human goblet cells. We believe this study demonstrates the mucotoxicity of PM and the protective function of alpha-tocopherol on mucotoxicity caused by acute PM exposure from heavy diesel engines

Multiple assessment methods of prenatal exposure to radio frequency radiation from telecommunication in the Mothers and Children’s Environmental Health (MOCEH) study

Objectives: To evaluate prenatal exposure to radiofrequency radiation (RFR) from telecommunication using a mobile phone questionnaire, operator data logs of mobile phone use and a personal exposure meter (PEM). Material and Methods: The study included 1228 mother–infants pairs from the Mothers and Children’s Environmental Health (MOCEH) study – a multicenter prospective cohort study ongoing since 2006, in which participants were enrolled at ≤ 20 weeks of pregnancy, with a follow-up of a child birth and growth to assess the association between prenatal environmental exposure and children’s health. The questionnaire included the average calling frequency per day and the average calling time per day. An EME Spy 100 PEM was used to measure RFR among 269 pregnant women from November 2007 to August 2010. The operators’ log data were obtained from 21 participants. The Spearman’s correlation test was performed to evaluate correlation coefficient and 95% confidence intervals between the mobile phone use information from the questionnaire, operators’ log data, and data recorded by the PEM. Results: The operators’ log data and information from the self-reported questionnaire showed significantly high correlations in the average calling frequency per day (ρ = 0.6, p = 0.004) and average calling time per day (ρ = 0.5, p = 0.02). The correlation between information on the mobile phone use in the self-reported questionnaire and exposure index recorded by the PEM was poor. But correlation between the information of the operators’ log data and exposure index for transmission of mobile communication was significantly high: correlation coefficient (p-value) was 0.44 (0.07) for calling frequency per day, and it was 0.49 (0.04) for calling time per day. Conclusions: The questionnaire information on the mobile phone use showed moderate to high quality. Using multiple methods for exposure assessment might be better than using only one method. Int J Occup Med Environ Health 2016;29(6):959–97

Plasma modification of poly(2-heptadecyl-4-vinylthieno[3,4-d]thiazole) low bandgap polymer and its application in solar cells

For the first time, we here propose a green methodology to modify a low bandgap polymer for highly efficient solar cells using atmospheric pressure plasma jet or soft plasma operating on different feeding gases (air, Ar and N-2). The physical properties of the modified polymer were investigated using conductivity measurements, UV-visible spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, cyclic voltammograms, atomic force microscopy, cathodoluminescence and confocal Raman spectroscopy. Further, we examined the variation of the work function of the polymer before and after plasma treatment using a gamma-focused ion beam. Additionally, photovoltaic cells based on the plasma-modified polymer having ITO/PEDOT:PSS/PHVTT (with or without plasma modification): PC71BM/LiF/Al configuration were fabricated and then characterized. We found that the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the plasma-modified polymer increased dramatically as compared to the control polymer (without plasma treatment). PCE of the control polymer was found to be 4.11%, while after air, Ar and N-2 gas plasma treatment the polymer showed PCEs of 4.85%, 4.87% and 5.14% respectively. Thus, plasma treatment not only alters the surface properties, but also modifies the bulk properties (changes in HOMO and LUMO bandgap level). Hence, this work provides new dimensions to explore more about plasma and polymer chemistry

Improved hematopoietic differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells via estrogen receptor signaling pathway

Additional file 2: Table S1. Temporal changes (%) of ER-Îą and hematopoietic phenotypes during hiPSC-derived hematopoietic differentiation